An official source at the Saudi Interior Ministry said that at 7:00 am Saturday morning, four persons tried to break into a building owned by a Saudi contractor in Yanbu City.

The assailants shot fire at random inside the building which included Saudis and foreigners, the official source said, noting that the assailants were pursued by the security forces until they reached a residential area where they took over a number of vehicles owned by citizens.

"With the grace of Almighty Allah, three of the assailants were killed and the fourth was injured and then captured," said the official source, pointing out that as a result of the incident some citizens and residents were either killed or injured. Media reports said the attack killed at least two American engineers, one Australian and two Britons.

Earlier, a Saudi website said a member of the Saudi security forces was killed in the clash following the shooting incident. Al Wifaq added that another Saudi policeman was wounded. (Albawaba.com)